Ohio Rep. Jack Cera Introduces Severance Tax Bill
From The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register:
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Air pollution from compressor stations, tractor-trailers hauling pipe on roads and bridges, and frackers sucking water from local creeks are examples of how East Ohio carries the burden for the entire state to prosper from the Marcellus and Utica shale boom.
"Eastern Ohio is disproportionately impacted by the increase in oil and gas drilling activity, so it is only fair to direct a portion of the severance tax back to the communities whose roads and bridges are deteriorating under the weight of increased truck traffic," Ohio Rep. Jack Cera, D-Bellaire, said. "I can't stand by while the state continues to neglect our Appalachian communities."
Cera said the state should generate more than $30 million this year from its relatively modest oil and natural gas severance tax. Ohio taxes producers at 3 cents per 1,000 cubic-foot unit of natural gas and 20 cents for a barrel of oil. By comparison, West Virginia applies a 5 percent tax on the total value for natural gas, in addition to 47 cents per 1,000 cubic feet.
A 1,000-cubic-foot unit selling at $3 in Ohio would yield the government just 3 cents, while the same unit of natural gas would generate 62 cents for West Virginia.The rest of the article can be read by clicking here.
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